This dataset provides a historical record of telephone subscribers in Great Britain, digitized from printed British telephone directories published between 1881 and 1951 at decadal intervals. It includes individual- and household-level entries capturing name, address, exchange, and number. The source directories were digitized using OCR, followed by rule-based cleaning and structuring to extract tabular data.

Content

The dataset is available in CSV format with each record corresponding to an individual subscriber and column reporting, the foranme initial, the surname, address, number and the geographical coordinates of the address. Commercial subscribers are also included. Accompanying documentation explains the structure and scope of the data, offers a glossary of terms, and presents classification codes, metadata, and statistical summaries that support interpretation and reuse.

Quality, Representation and Bias

Data quality varies by year and region due to differences in printing conventions, OCR performance, and changes in publication standards over time. Early years are often sparser and more urban-focused, with rural coverage improving post-World War I. OCR errors and inconsistencies in address formatting present challenges, particularly for automated geocoding. The methology includes procedures to minimize such errors, though residual issues may affect a small proportion of records. As with all historical sources, certain demographic groups (e.g. women, minorities, renters) may be underrepresented.